A teaching format typically used in the classroom is lecturing. It is straightforward and tells the students exactly what they need to know. However, it isn’t always effective.
“Students tune out during lectures,” The head of the VASJ science department, Mrs. Melissa Grai, says. ”I knew I had to change something with the lectures because kids weren’t retaining [the information].”
This is where modeling comes in.
Modeling is a teaching method that allows the teacher to present the material in such a way that their students develop a model of the concept in their mind. The class then comes to a consensus on which of their concepts they believe is right. They form a lab experiment around the consensus and find actual scientific results based on the lab, thus proving or disproving their concept. If the student-made concept is correct, the class continues, building off of that concept. If it is wrong, the class determines why it’s wrong and change the concepts formed in their head.
To better understand this concept, Grai gives an example using the first unit that her students focused on in class this year: mass.
The class collectively determined that if they added sugar to water, the total mass would decrease because the sugar dissolved in the water. However, the results yielded in their lab experiment determined that the total mass stayed the same. Because their initial concept of what would happen was incorrect, the class had to determine why this was the case and then change their mindset.
“In modeling, labs are used to introduce and prove material, instead of simply reinforcing the material,” Grai says.
Lecturing does nothing to help students understand the depth of the given information. Modeling, however, provides students with not only get a better grasp on the subject, but also the opportunity to create their own labs in order to receive a deeper understanding.
Grai now has students write up their own lab notes rather than giving them premade lab sheets as she had done in previous years. As a class, they determine what they are trying to test, what they are trying to prove, and what they need to do. “When I used to give labs, students were like robots,” Grai says. "They simply would do the lab and had no idea why they were doing what they were doing. Then, at the end, they had no idea what the lab was about or what they learned from it.”
Grai has high hopes for the outcome of this new way of teaching, including greater retention of information in students, the improvement of problem-solving skills, and an increase in ACT science scores.
“As I’m going through I’m finding things to improve on,” Grai says.“I’ve already got ideas on what I’m going to change for next year. I’m not just strictly following the [modeling] curriculum, I’m trying very hard to see what I can improve on.”
Science, like all school subjects, can be a hard course for some students. The information presented can be hard to comprehend, or simply challenging to understand. Part of the problem can be found in the methods being used to teach the material. The VASJ science department has taken notice in these trends, and has decided to do something about it. Kathleen O’Donnell is a senior at VASJ. She is involved in the Drama Club and has an interest in illustration and costume design. After high school, she intends to attend college and major in illustration and animation.